Hi. I’m very new here, so I apologize if I’m posting this in the wrong area. On Jan 2nd, I had embolization surgery performed on my dural av fistula. Since then, I’ve had minor headaches most of the time. I’ve looked all over the internet, but it’s difficult to find answers to my questions. I’m hoping that someone here can help me. I understand that people’s experiences are different, but I’m very scared and I’m anxious to learn as much as I can about what to expect. Here are my nagging questions…
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Are these post op headaches normal? Do people tend to have headaches like this after a successful surgery? If so, how long might they last? Weeks? Months? Could these headaches be permanent? They’re usually fairly minor, but the fear of not knowing if this is normal, is what’s really getting to me.
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Assuming that the DAVF is cured, can the patient still live a long life? Is this one of those things that shortens the patient’s lifespan, or (again, assuming it’s cured) can I basically move on and live to be a ripe old age?
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I know that I’m not supposed to workout or strain myself too hard, but for how long? I have zero idea on what a standard recovery time might look like. Weeks? Many years?
The other night, my headache was worse than normal and so I went to the hospital. I live in a very small town, so there were no doctors who specialize in this stuff there. They gave me a CT scan and sent the scan to another city so a specialist could look it over and send a message to the local doctors at my hospital. Apparently they found nothing concerning and sent me home, which is good, but I’m still desperate for answers to my questions. Any info would mean SO much to me. Thank you so much.